Videogames and Children's Health - Rating Systems

In 2007, I attended a workshop at the annual conference of the American Psychological Association that focused upon the effects of video games on children and teens.  This has been a topic I have followed for a long time, because I see more and more children and teen's playing an increasing amount of these games.  I know that they have an effect, and the workshop validated my thoughts.  I have created a series of articles to summarize what I learned.  Please note that this is a summary of a lot of information.  This information is continuing to develop and further research is constantly being made available. 

I have gathered the following information in an effort to help parents make decisions about their child’s videogame use. Remember, the video game market is tremendous and the amount of money being made on video games is equally tremendous. There is very little incentive, if any, for the video game companies to discourage your child’s involvement in video games, so information you gather from the companies themselves is often biased. What follows is information culled from sources independent of these companies who are dedicated to your child’s health. These sources are reliable and trustworthy.

  Videogame Ratings

• Videogame companies voluntarily adopt videogame ratings.
• The ratings are based upon video excerpts of the games, and are provided by the videogame company themselves.
• A company dissatisfied with their rating can appeal for a change in the ratings awarded.
• There are no independent videogame ratings available.
• There is currently no mechanism for enforcing the use of ratings or the compliance with ratings that are given for a game.

References for further information :

Funk, J. B., Flores, G., Buchman, D. D., & Germann, J. N. (1999). Rating electronic games: Violence is in the eye of the beholder. Youth & Society, 30, 283-312.

* Dr. Funk will also be publishing further research on the topic of videogame rating systems, their use and their validity.

What you can do:

1. Parents should play all videogames with their child, despite the fact that their child will likely beat them.  This will provide you information about the games they are playing.
   
2. Ask your child to teach you how to play the game.
3. Limit their exposure to games that are concerning to you.
4. Trust your gut. If you feel that a videogame is disturbing or of concern, act on that feeling.
5. Discuss the videogame content with your child and raise concerns that you have. Use this as a way to engage with your child.
6. Avoid having the videogame be a “babysitter” for free time or time when your child is not supervised.

As you will see in the other articles in this series, videogames, just like music, books and other media, have an effect upon children.  You, as their parent, must evaluate this effect and decide if it makes sense to introduce it into your child's life.  I know that parents have little say over whether their child plays a videogame or not.  However, you need to take a stand about what role you want this media to play in your child's life.  I suspect that none of the videogame companies are wanting you to consider these things too closely because it might result in less videogame involvement and less revenue for them.  Therefore, you have to make an independent decision.  Sometimes reviewing your decision with a professional can help your process.  Being an objective oberserver, a mental health professional can help you take your individual child's needs and your concerns into account so that you can make the best decision.